Schedules change, fortunes change, and well seasons change. Winter is fast approaching and as it gets colder, hockey gets hotter. So as I sit here….watching the Sens-Rangers pregame on HNIC….it makes me think about what has transpired in October and November..and look ahead to December and beyond.
A lot of the teams that got off to real hot starts have cooled some in the mid and late part of November. Those hot Octobers are a thing of the past. Now that the season is in full swing…now its time to see what the Ottawa’s and Carolina’s and even Philly’s are made of. Remember seeing those outrageous GAA and save percentages from some goalies? Oh yeah, those are mostly gone too. However, there are always some constants even if they all don’t get there quite the same way.
For example….remember the two goalies who raced for Bernie Parent’s record? Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur are indeed back. Both have been hot the last 2 weeks and have watched their GAA tumble down to last year’s levels. But my MVP of the first two months has to be Henrik Lundqvist…really this is a no brainer folks! His 1.82 GAA and .930 save percentage are right among the league leaders. Will it last? Maybe not quite at those lofty levels but damn he could keep that GAA right around 2 easily I think…especially with how the Rangers play a defensive system (we won’t mention the T word here). His record is only 13-9-2 but without him…the Rangers are dead in the water…being 29th in the league in scoring will put a heavy reliance on your goaltender. So far…so good for the Rangers but maybe not for the playoffs so much…but that is a different story.
Amongst the forwards, though he doesn’t lead the league in points…I do think Daniel Alfredsson is the MVP among the forward persuasion. Yes he only has 32 points in 23 games…but he is the captain in more ways than one in Ottawa. When he went out with a groin injury for a few games…the secondary scoring could not step up. Though the Sens are still struggling…(down to the Rangers right now), with Alfredsson on board, they should right the ship pretty soon. The key will be how he gets the Sens to turn over the puck less and shoot more which is why Ottawa is 1-4-2 after starting out hotter than a comet. Sure the injuries are there but Alfredsson has done it before…lead by example, and I think he will do it again.
Speaking of leading by example…the NHL has finally gone back to the old system of scheduling. Though it may hurt ratings and attendance from time to time…this can’t hurt for hockey. The NHL Arena posters have hit this from all angles…and the viewpoints have been very interesting. I will somewhat miss the “divisional” system but in all honesty, the NHL needed to do this. Even if you don’t agree with some of the particulars…this will let all the teams to see each other at least once…though I would like to admittedly see at least 1 home and 1 away matchup against all the teams. It could work….take 82 games….so a home and home against each opponent would take up 58 games. That leaves 24 more to throw into the Eastern Conference. Throw a bone and say make divisional opponents play each other 5 times each and that leaves you with 12 games to intersperse to the other teams of the conference. So….another game each amongst the conference leaves you with 2 wildcards that can be used to keep certain rivalries kicking.
Hey it may not work….but it guarantees fans a few more trips to see their team perhaps when they might not have. That can’t hurt folks! Now if they can market this as Versus starts to improve their coverage and maybe fans can actually get access to The NHL Network….then maybe just maybe the NHL can take the cold winds of change and heat up the ice!
